Lions Tab Sarah Mansfield As Assistant Coach
5/3/2021 12:00:00 PM | Field Hockey
Mansfield, a former All-American and NCAA Champion goalkeeper, joins Columbia after seven years at UMass.
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Columbia field hockey head coach Katie DeSandis '13CC has announced the hiring of Sarah Mansfield as an assistant coach. Mansfield joins the Lions after seven seasons at the University of Massachusetts in the same role. Mansfield was also a four-year National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American goalkeeper and NCAA Champion with the University of Connecticut.
"I couldn't be more excited to welcome Sarah into our Columbia field hockey family," DeSandis said. "Sarah's wealth of experience and hockey knowledge combined with her ambition, passion for development, and growth-mindset are what make her a perfect fit for our program. Sarah's relatability, love of hockey and holistic understanding of how to have a championship mindset on and off the field are going to continue to progress our program forward. I cannot wait to see how her philosophies, knowledge, and coaching style impacts our program as we strive to win every moment."
During her stint at UMass, the Minutewomen appeared in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, won two Atlantic 10 Championships and one A-10 regular season title.
In 2015, Mansfield's defense unit was a crucial component to the team's late-season success, which included must-win performances against the final five Atlantic 10 opponents. During that stretch, UMass allowed just three goals (0.60 per game) while the squad produced a shutout of Kent State, 1-0, in her first NCAA Tournament game as a coach. Individually, senior goalkeeper Sam Carlino totaled single-season bests in save percentage (.754), total saves (104) and saves per game (5.0) during her final collegiate campaign.
Mansfield made an immediate impact on the Minutewomen in her first year with the program in 2014, seeing Lauren Allymohamed earn NFHCA All-America and the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Award. In goal, Carlino picked up A-10 First Team All-Conference honors after she produced a then-single-season best .740 save percentage with a career-low-tying 34 goals allowed in more than 1,474 minutes. Under Mansfield's tutelage, Carlino's play improved during league games as the junior limited foes to just 0.90 goals per contest with only seven allowed over 546 minutes.
Individually, she has mentored an All-American (Allymohamed), two A-10 Defensive Players of the Year (Allymohamed and Melanie Kreusch) and six All-Atlantic 10 honorees.
"I'm so excited to join the Columbia University community and I cannot thank head coach Katie DeSandis and Director of Athletics Peter Pilling enough for this opportunity," Mansfield stated. "I believe in the vision Coach DeSandis has for this program, on and off the pitch, and I cannot wait to get to work with the dedicated and driven field hockey student-athletes here."
Mansfield currently works extensively as a coach for USA Field Hockey, utilizing her Level II accreditation and expertise in developing talent at the Developmental Squad Training Camps, U17 & U21 National Programs, and High-Performance Training Centers.
Mansfield was a four-year starter in goal for UConn, where she totaled a 75-16 record, 1.12 goals-against average and .770 save percentage over 91 appearances, which included 88 starts. She received All-America, All-Region and All-BIG EAST honors in each of her four campaigns. She capped her collegiate playing days with a career-high 98 saves against only 29 goals allowed in 1,816 minutes played when she backstopped UConn to the 2013 NCAA National Championship. She only gave up three goals during the four-game NCAA Tournament and shut out Duke during the 2-0 title match victory.
A native of Cornwall, England, Mansfield has extensive experience within the England Hockey national program, competing on the U16, U18, and U21 teams while getting her first coaching experience coaching U10 & U12 teams for Millfield Preparatory School.
In addition to her international & collegiate career and coaching experience, Mansfield has sought out opportunities to grow the game by guiding club-level competitors with Element Field Hockey as well as Strikers club.
For the latest on Columbia field hockey, follow @columbiafhockey on Twitter, @columbiafh on Instagram, and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.
